The Sun. — London, England, 1818-01-12 00:00:00

amlideor LAW IN 1 ELLIGENCE. SHERIFF'S COURT, SATURDAY, JAN. 10. OPEIL4- HOUSE. AYHTON V. WATERS. Mr WILD Staled, tl% it the lalaintiff was Win. A y,ion, Foci and the defendant Edward Waters, Ehq oeelaration was fur 1200/. for work and Idboor. The defendant had suffered judg ment by default, and the Jury nem. impannelled to ascertain the thintages. Mr. SCARLETT. in a very eloquent speech, ad dre..sed the July. He attended, lie said, OT) be half of a Gc;,tlentan whose name was of high ce- lehrity in the musical et 00c1. The plaintiff Was the on of Dr. Ayrton, an eminent pro!essor, and many years Master of his Majesty's Chapel. He tic! br.ught up his son, the Plaintiff, to the same profession, lie had given him a libcral education, and had rendered him. fit to 'engage in any situa tion, or associate,in auy'spciety. The defendant was a Gentleman extremely known—almost as t'. C.l known in Cools 'ot Justice as the King's Theatre iisclf, in conseqUence of the contests in vbick he had beet) env,aged with Mr. Taylor, the „ , former proprietor, iheonject of the present in (pity was to ascerta4l what sum of money was reasonably to be paid to the plaintiff for the la bour, assiduity, and skill he had bestowed in the coi , ecins of Alt-. Waters, in the musical depart ment of the Opera:house last season, and for other services, which, though not falling under that class, had been tendered by theplitintiff for the defendant. Mr. Waters, by suffering judg ment by default, had admitted an engagement of a pecuniary nature with the plaintiff, and that something was due to him, but as he had never offered to pay any sum of money, or, till the esent. action. was brought, admitted that the plaintiff had any claim upon him, Mr. Ayrton wu-s thrown under. the difficulty of having to re 'lke out the amount of his title to remuneration. It was a difficulty he should overcome, and he h a rLoo doubt of receiving a coMpeasation com rneusurate u ith the advantages alr. Waters had deliverl from his assistance. It had been under btood, in point of honour, that whatever had been the success of the Opera under the direction of the plaintiff last season., his services were to have been liberally rewarded. Had it failed, he would aril' have been entitled to have heen remunerated; but it would he proved that the Italian Opera had last season been attended with the . greatest success ; that it had been more , prosperous than it lead been for malty years, and that this was - at tributable to the assistance of the plaintiff. .If Mr Waters, forgetting the debt of gratitude,.bad cloe.eo to say to the plaintiff, " You stated the ettiairourn which you would consent to, receive, 8 141 there it is for you," this action would never have bet ii brought ; but Mr. Waters had denied liability, except by allowing judgment by de fault, and now he hoped to reduce the sum to the lowest coroyensation The contest between him and- his learned friend this day, would be what the services of the plaintiff were worth, what advantage the defendant had derived, and what he ought to r , a y 'for those services.— He would here observe, that the Italian Opera had for many years been unproductive. To those ho ftequelited the Italian._ Opera it was well knowu that, on former occasions,. it was stitii clew if the Manager exhibited one singer, male or female, in a season, whose attractions were :efficient to dratv the attention of the audi ence; but all propriety in gettiog up the drama fur theatiical representation was thrown in the back ;Jou d, in order to render more prominent the particular person engaged as principal singer. In the event of the singer so engaged failing in producing the effect expected, there were also en gaged in a season two new principal dancers to . perform in the ballet. He recollected in the early pact of his life, when he had more leisure, though not more taste than lie had at present, he was used to attend the Opera, and it was also considered that it was quite in titne.if any one art ived at the Vbeatre before the Ballet cammenced ; for such was the state of the Italian Opera, that many per sons of the higher order, many of whom had great taste—nay, the whole mass of the Biitish public, who knew the connection there was between the fine arts, regretted the state of the Italian Opera as it then was, and wished an attempt. shoahl be made to introduce the Operas of the best toasters, and that they should be got ups() that all the parts should be .cast in the most advantageous •timaner. Mr. Waters particularly was influenced by a de sire to produce that effect. It so happened that the attention of Mr. Waters was directed to Mr. A vrton, by the celebrity the latter had acquired as,Manager of the Philharmouic Concerts. Mr. Waters thought no one. better qualified to under take the musical department of the Opera, than one who had conducted those Concerts, which were attended with a greater degree of fame than any Concerts had ever been before, .In former times, if you heard one flue piece of tnusic in a Concert, yo u were obliged_ to listen to many dull and tire some compositions ; but the Conductor of the poilhar m onic Concerts proceeded upon the prin ,ciple of excluding every thing, that was not excel lent; tied with such success had they been attended, tita; the numbet of sahscribers was only limited by the size of the room in which they were,perfornied. Titus was Mr. Ayrton introduced:to Mr.. Waters. H e ' was a gentleman, a scholar- 7 acquainted with foreign hinguages•—understood not ()lily what be longs'd to the ,cience of music, bat to the busi tie,s of the world. Mr. Waters applied to him in general terms for his -assistance. ..Mr. Waters had himself 'no intimate knowledge of anusic, nor was he much acquainted with foreign languages; there tore his engagements with his Italian .performers were of necessity. by proxy. He int-breed Mr. Ayrton to accompany him to Paris. When arriv ed 'bete, the first stp was to engage Ambrogetti, A egt asani, Camporese, and Madame Fodor. Every paws were taken by Mr. Ayrton, to form a com plete Corps Dramatique, in which one particular person st „ m i d not stand before the rest, but wher e eve ry part should he equally prominent. The suc cess of the 'Opera, in consequence, of those en gagements, was unbounded. The zeal of Mr. A e reou was not confined to Ida duty ; he wrote the advertisements for the Defendant—composed for Ilea. (liere th- Learned Counsel read au ad vertisement published by Mr. Waters, which ex pressed his own ideas of the extraordinary success of the Italian Opera last season.) Upun the sub ject of the various ditties which devolved on the plaintiff, his first was to give his advice to the proprietor as to the merits of the vocal and instru mental performers, previous to their being en gaged. He was. likewise - , if necessary, to re model operas, a duty which did not depend on the mere knowledge of music, but required other qua lifications ; for music might be set to the grossest nonsense. The poetry of one of the finest lyric poets anuansobe Italians. Metastasio, had been so altered by the writers of Operas within the last century, that they bad become the subject of ridi cule among the wits of those days. The pl a i n tiff had, therefore, to restore the purity of the poetry to such Operas as had been degraded by the style in which they had been written. Another ditty imposed upon the plaintiff grew out of this cir cumstance : the performers of the Opera were generally gifted with great talents, and many of them had in consequence a considerable but just Mare of vanity. Particular singers couceived that (bey acted particular parts, or sumo' particular airs, better than others. This produced jealoesies among them, and it was the task of the mused director to compose these jarring feelings. He was himself to determine that for which they were tnost fit; well knowing that they were them selves not always the best Judges upon that sub ject. This species of vanity was not confined to singers ; for it was well known that the most splendid orators had made themselves ridiculous by pretending to be what nettlre never intended th em —poets. The musical director had to appreciate and direct the genius of each individual performer. A director, who was to adapt the music at such a man as Mozart, or, to use the phrase of Hilton, " to marry music to immortal verse," was not a director who w a s to be titer w ith every day. Here was a Signor who drsired ;o have-such a song, and a Signora who preferred such an air. It required a man of profound know ' ledge of the world to soothe the irritations of the one, or flatter the other, in order to induce them to make a sacrifice of their vanity. It required such a man as Mr. Ayrton, a man of suavity of manners, of great address, of sound judgment, and refined taste. When the parts were all cast, he bad to attend rehearsals, and see that the Opera was performed in such a way as woual b est please'the pumlic. The plaintiff not only did that, but took the piano-forte, for the purpose of play ing every air. There was another thing : it often happened that somethiog occurred at a Theatre which occasioned an audience to be disappointed ; a singer took cold, or refused to act. Who was to explain this ? It was necessary there should he a nelson able to address the audience. That department fell on the musical director. He mentioned this to thew how difficult it must be to meet an individual with so many qualities. He did not say that such a man as Sir George Smart was not to be procured ;. but then he most have 2000. a year. Talent would always have its price. : It was owing to the plaintiff that the Opera of - Don Giovanni had been brought out last season. It was a bold design ; for - it had been represented at Paris, and had failed. Mr. Ayrton was convinced it was the finest wterk of the finest composer, and was therefore resolved to get it up., The history of Don Giovanni had been unfortunate till it came to this country. It never before haul its full effect. It was a work originally written by a Spaniard. In the time of Louis XIV. Moliere introduced it into Paris under the title of Le•Festin de Pierre ; but it never suited the French Theatre. At had been turned into prose, and there was some thing in its moral the Parisians did -not like.— When kwas afterwards translated into Italian, and acted, its success was problematical. The story had been first introduced to this country tinder the patronage of Mr. Palmer, when he had the theatre in Weil-close-square. It was there applauded; but on the Italian stage on the Continent it met with considerable opposition. Those who were friendly to Mr. Taylor and to Mr. Waters, thought that to bring it out at the Opera House would ruin the concern. Mr. Ayrton persevered, and it was _performed twenty-six successive nights. It attracted the most overflowing houses. More half-guineas had been taken at the pit door than bad ever been known, and Mr. IVaters had even published an advertisement stating that so great was the overflow, that the lower tier of boxes would be thrown into the pit. Mr. Ayrton had also trans hated the Opera into English. lie had likewise been the occasion of bringing forward the Operas of " Figaro," " La Molinari," and many others, equally attractive. He should produce witnesses, who should prove that there never was exhibited to the mu - sic:ll world a more consummate feast titan " 1)on Giovanni." Mr. Waters would have done well if he had kept 'this gentleman in his service ; but the love of economy had prevailed.-- Th e only question then was, what should be the remuneration ? lie should call Professors, who would say, that they would not have filled Mr. Ayrton's situation under 10001. a year ; they woeldsay, that it was impossible to have pro cured a fitter man, or one who combined more ta lent than Mr. Ayrton. He was, thereforp, enti tled to a liberal compensation. As Mr. Waters had thrown it on a quantum meruit, he trusted the Jury would give the plaintiff what he deserved. It was not unusual formerly to pay large salaries to persons who filled this department.' The late Mr. Sheridan, than whom no one was a better judge, did not think 1,000/. a-year too much. It was to be observed that the.musie was of the best sort, and the performers of the first eminence. Madame Fodor had 1,500/4 a-year, and the others were paid in the same proportion. It was there fore important, that such talents should-Hot bp thrown away, but should be made the most of. Madame Catalani had rated her service's so high, that Mr. Waters could not engage her last • season ; that lady was of herself a host, and when she sung, Mr. Waters trusted to the General, not so much attending to the soldiers ; but since her departure the attrac tions of the Opere,had depended on the manage ment of the plaintiff, and certainly there never had been a season at the Opera House which had passed over so pleasantly to time Performers, or so beneficial to the Proprietor. The Learned Coun sel then adverted to another circumstance, with respect to which the talents of- the plaiotiff bud been of the ldghest advantage. Madame Fodor wished a song to be transposed in La Clemenza de Tito, of Metastasio. It was a song, at the end of the second act, in which the character having been banished was bidding farewel to her friends. The Lady was desirous that the song should be sung at the'becinning of the first act. The plain tiff was consulted ; he saw the impropriety of it—it was bidding adieu , before' the party was banished—it was like introducing into a struc ' lure a particular order of architecture, something that was quite inconsistent with it, and destroyed the effect of the whole ; besides this the author. had put the song in the right place. He h'ad thus stated the various qualifications required in a person %rho filled such a situation as that of Mu sical Director at the Opera House. He should prove that Mr..Avrion possessed them all, and he had no doubt the Jury would award him such a compensation as would render justice to his ta lents. Signor Testtis examined.—Had an engagement at the King's Theatre la“ season ; was poet ; was frequently at the Opera Ifouse ; knew the plain tiff, Mr. Ayrton, who attended there as the .other persons who were employed ; he attended as di rector of the tnn•ic ; he was discharging the duties of musical director. Witnvss had no knowledge of the art of music, but from the success of the Opera, he considered the plaintiff must have been fully competent. The success of tie Opera last season was unquestionable. The plaintiff was in the habi of preiwring the Operas, and arranging th e p ar ts o f the performers. Witness thought the plaintiff distributed the parts. Plaintiff attended the rehearsals, which usually occupied Iwo or three !vim's ; he also attende,! private rehearsals at the houses nt the etoinent singers. The Opera of Don Giovanni required • a gre,ater portion of attention than other Operas ; it was an Opera. the It alans, who in general were not fond . of Mozart's music, did not wish should he brought out ;—it was brought out by the perseverance of the plaintiff. Dining its perfttrmanee the Opera House was attended beyond all example. - Wit ness did not know whether Mr, Waters understood French or music. The business of the Theatre was usually conducted ill the Italian langnage.— [Ctoss-examined by Mr. Serjeant Copley ]—The plaintiff could not speak Italian like a native of Italy, but lie could speak it so as to be understood. Witness was the poet, and it was his business to correct, adapt-, and alter pieces for the Italian stage. Witness believed the plaintiff translated Ow Opera of Don Giovanni into He was not poet now ; the musical department was more successful last year than the former year. . Charles Ja mes A s hl ey exam i ne d —lie had been in the Opera twelve seasons ; Ay.rton was the musical director. lie thought the musical de partment was better conducted when Don Giovanni was brought out ; he colceived Ayrton was corn. petent to undertake the musical department ; it was his opinion, he ought - to be very greatly re munerated for the trouble he had taken. • Signor Ambrogetti examined—said he was en gaged as a singer at the Opera in the month of September, last year. The Opera of Don:Gio vanni was got up there, under the direction of Mr. Ayrton ; ,it was got up in a most perfect manner ; he tOok the management on himself;. he thought he was entitled to a very great compensation for his trouble ; for Ayrton had the particular qualifi cations requisite for the management of a Theatre. Several witnesses followed, who all proved that Mr. Ayrton was entitled to a very large•compen sailors for the trouble which .he had taken in the musical department of the Theatre.---Thir. Scarlett having male out Isis case, Mr: Serjeant COPLEY rose, and made a very able defence on the part of the defendant. He said, that with re gar d to one o b servat i on ' was made by his Learned Friend, namely, that ' the Gentleman who was the defendant was well known in the Courts of Law, in consequence of the litigation which he was carrying on—he was quite sure the Jury would be satisfied that Al r. Waters was not influenced by a spirit of litigation Thi s w a s not a .qiiestion as to the general merits of Mr. Ayrton, and what Mr.Ayrton would be entitled to receive ; hut the question was, what was the specific contract entered into, and what sum this Gentleman was to receive by express stipulation. If he proved what was the extent of the remune ration he was 10 receive by a contract, that would be the measure of the damages. In iBl6, in con sequence of the personal infirmities of Mr. Kelly, who had superintended the management for a , pe riod of 26 years, it b ecame necessary to l oo k f or some assistance with respect to the stage manage ment—not the general management, but with re spect to that department in which Mr. Ayrton was engaged for one season, for the sum of four hundred pounds. ImmCdiately after this engage ment, Mr. Waters proposed going to Paris, in order to strengthen the corps of performers, but told Mr. Ayrton distinctly, you are not to expect a remune ration : that was the proposition he made to Mr. Ayrton, to which he conceded. Mr. Ayrton hav ing conceded to this proposition, %Vent to Paris, and to a certain degree, assisted in the selecting of performers for a short time; but it was found that a Mr. Bonnelli, who was on the spot, was more experienced than Mr. Ayrton,, and who was a person who spoke the languages fluently—French and Italian accurately ; and could do this more completely than Mr. Ayrton. Having done this at the expense of Mr. Waters, after lie had run through all the amusements of Paris, he returned to this country, and almost immediately after called on Mr. tees, a friend of Mr. Waters. Mr. Lees was desirous of knowing what arrangements were made ; upon which Mr. Ayrton said, " don't know, because the business has not been transacted by me; and is has been a party of plea .sure." So much with respect to that part of the demand, and 1 am sure that when he comes to prove this contract, there will be an end of all claims on the part of Mr. Ayrton.. Then to the second part, namely, what remuneration this Gentleman is entitled to receive in consequence of his services. Mr. Kelly, who bad been manager for twenty-six years, had never had a salary of more than 4001. for all his various duties. Mr. Ayrton, who merely took under his direction the musical department, was engaged at a salary of 4001. By the assistance of Mr. Lees, he should prove that Mr. Ayrton was engaged at '4OOl. for the season, and the Jury would' .say.wbether or ' not that was' really the contract between these Gentlemen. Charles Lee 4 sworn ; examined by Mr. Serjeant CoPLEY.—Said Ise was an assistant of Mr .WateTS,' .Mr. Ayrton was engaged in September ; be re"' heatedly told witness that he was engaged at a 6 34 lary of 4001. At the period of the negociatin ri of the Noblemen and Mr. Waters,. Mr. Ayrton bet.tged of him to mention to Mr. eaters, that bi s , 4001. should be changed to 500/ , and instead o f his name standing in the book as Mr. Ayrton, it should be changed to William Ayrton. Esq. Mr' Waters objected to the alteration of the 4001. t° 5001., but he smiled at the alteration of Mr. t 0 Esq. and adopted it. Mr. IVaters afterwards ms" a proposal to witness to go to France, when be recommended Mr. Ayrton, and afterwards cow municated Mr. Waters's proposal to Mr. Ayrton , which he accepted very willingly ; and added, that if Mr. Waters would pay his exp,ences there an d back, he should be glad to go. Witness cominu nicated this to Mr. Waters, and he , vent. Eie was absent about two months. Mr. Waters said he would 01.0 pay for Mr. Ayrton's amusements at Paris. The morning atter his return witness sio't him, and WI a,king, what Ilan been done, he said he had scarce had any thing to "do with the ea gagements which were made by Mr. Waters, and added, that as for any assistance lie was to Mr. %%raters, he might have remained at home. Cross-examined by Mr. SCARLETT —Held 5)0 situation under Mr. Waters. His coottexion wish him was a friendly one. He did receive a gray unity for, what he did. He-assisied Mr. Water* in the management ; he received no settled r eward for this. It was quite at the discretion of Mr. IVaters. He hart received large sums troth Mr Waters for a CotiCel II ill the b ginning d 1815, when be came to the Theatre with Mt- Pert y was not sent by Mr. 'Waters to Mr. Mt" ton. Had no recollection of having said to Alr. Ayrton, that no man could exercise an a ctive ,employment in the management of the Oper s House without becoming a confirmed ltar ; woahr positively swear he did not say so. 'fleets were various sorts of lies told respective the Oper 4 House; be meant respecting orders issued, 1 10(1 so on. It was necessary that a person becottv in; connected with a theatre should sometime* state that which was incorrect, with a view t* meet the objects of the concern. Mr. Ayrton was not modest in his pretensions : the reverse. fts saving he was of no utdity to Mr. Watels, must inert:JON.: have been the pure conviction 't £ his mind. Did not tell Mr. Ayrton he should null be detained ten days. Mr. Waters wanted a coo . passion. This was after the contract for tout hundred pounds. Did not know that Mr. IVaters. had offered any money to Mr. Ayrtim ; knol that Mr. Waters made two appointint'll ts with Mr. Ayrton, who did not conic to his One. Witness sometimes wrote letters for Mr' Waters, which Mr. Waters signed. Witness fib' jected to applying to Mr. Waters 'for a written. contract. Saud, in general terms, that he testa sorry the action had been brought. Did no t c.,s• press his regret that Mr. Waters had obli g ed Mr. , Ayrton to bring an action. Three pavin, tits w ere made to the performers at the Opera House ; t wiee during the season, and once attarivar(!.. i 1 ti tt'o recollection that Mc. Waters.said to Mr Avrtgo° when the negotiation was going 00. u bit ib:e blemen, "r allow me to put vow- name 1.)%%11t.(-- 8001. per year," which Mr. kyttior deelitien, hag log no itch engagement. Mr Waters [wither nil' derstood French, Italian, nor ,11,:sic ; recellcele t a conversation with Mr. Ayrton respcting Bonnelli being met.at l'.tr.s by Mr. Water,. ) 11 ' Ayrton said, he had been itist I Officinal to reducing Signor Bonnelli's demand for agency. Mr. Ayr' 0 ° wrote the preface to Don Giovanni. Captain Wateis, the son of the defendant, de' posed, that he accompanied his father a,,11 Nir • Ayrton to Paris; all the expences of the . 0.4.4 and maintenance of all pa ties were. paid by 1.‘1 1. -• Waters, M. Bonnelli was Mr. IVaters'. *gefit of Paris ; he was connected ‘vith Madame CatalAo 44 Theatre. Mr. Ayrton's opinion was occasiotooll asked, but Mr. Bonnelli made the engag, m tntl' Mr. Ayrton went to font or' live performers to hear them sing. Madame Fodor played at tie Opera HotiO while Mr. Ayrton was its Musical Director. Sh e received her directions from him for her part it' Don Giovanni. In her cross-examination witnea* said she had been reconciled to Mr. Taylor through Mr. Ayrton. Mr. Mahew, Solicitor to Mr. Waters, prove ) that Mr. Ayrton's contract had never been a e. knowledged by that Gentleman. Mr. MICHAEL KELLY proved, that be had befl Acting Manager of the Opera House for one and twenty years. He received for his labours, vehidi comprised the complete superintendecce of th e house, music, &c. 4001., or a Benefit at Drtirr lane, or at the Opera House. He also sung first tenor for the same money. Mr. SCAULETT now replied at considerab le length, and With great ingenuity, contending that nothing had been offered to lessen the demand d she plaintiff, who, he submitted, was entitled al least to 10001. The Under Sheriff then slimmed up the evidence , leaving it to the Jury to form their own con clusion as to whether the contract described hi Mr. Lees had actually been entered into be. tween Mr. Waters and M r. A yrton or not. .11 they were of opinion that the contract had beet' entered into, then Mr. Ayrton's claim most be limited by his own agreement. It, the contrary, they thought no such contract hat been formed, they would then advert to the gene" ral nature of the duties which Mr. Ayrton hot performed, his fitness to perform them, and thin reward to which he was entitled. Upon thig point, they would be enabled to form their judg ment by the evidence which had been given in the early part of the cause. The Jury, after a short consultation, found a ver dict for th e plaintiff'. Damages--Seven Hundred Pounds. Costs—Forty DIED. On Thursday, at Bishopgate Cottage, Eliza Louisa, wife of George Powney, Esq. LONDON: Printed by J. B. CARSTA/RS, of No. 29, Great Ormond-street, Queen-square; and published by W. =;• SCRIPPS, of No. 7, South Dolton-street, at THE 'tiEr l4 • Office, No. 112, Strand; where Advertisements, "Ordetol Lettqrs a &c. (post-paid) must he addressed. /;. SA L T a „, t„,, l or , ei ar e h flisil Dr,,l I ton Land 4 tar S o , Part 411 Iki z rzt4v 11I t a,„„ ti t ollti, t(),,,